Deceptions

Ascendant, Book 3

By: Craig Alanson

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

Koren Bladewell now knows he is a wizard, but he is lost in the wilderness, cut off from help, and unable to use his powers.

The enemy is poised at the border with an overwhelming invasion force, and it will take wizards, soldiers and a young, untested princess to hold off defeat long enough for Koren to be trained and grow into his power. But he might not wish to help those who deceived him and destroyed his life.

©2018 Craig Alanson (P)2018 Podium Audio

Solid Yet Tropetastic

Bottom line, this was a good, but simple book. I did, however, get the distinct impression that the ending was rushed; lots of ground covered by simply skipping ahead.

The overall plot for the series was simple and straightforward (mild spoilers) :

One big baddie, one princess and kingdom in distress, one commoner with the ability to save the day, one betrothal to an adversaries child, one betrayal by said adversary, and all the powerful ‘good’ wizards who are centuries old and have had all that time to study and empower themselves are just too tired, old, and weak to really do much of anything (except one).

If I were to guess, this book was aimed at the YA audience and actually leaning towards teen readers.

Not a bad finish, but...

The book left me wanting more at certain points and rolling my eyes at other points. The first sixty percent of the book seem to drone on endlessly with far too many plot devices for my taste of enjoyment. Fortunately, the loose ends were nicely tied up over the final frame for an entertaining story. There seemed to be so many story arcs that just never came to fruition and were dashed at the end. t was an entertaining series, and I really felt for the lead at times, as he struggle to find his way in the world.

loved it!

loved the characters..the ending the narrator the whole thing. great series..glad I read it :)

Much loved characters

I thoroughly enjoyed the character interaction. The main character struggled through believable misunderstandings and difficult circumstances. He displayed weakness and strength. I will miss the series.

Not the best book in the series

this is was not the best book in the series. I know this is a young adult novel but the book gets repetitive and predictable.